Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- A sex abuse case against Roselle Anderson Stevenson was dismissed permanently.
- The Utah County judge cited evidentiary issues and a 30-year gap since alleged abuse.
- The alleged victim urges other victims to come forward and seek justice.
PROVO — A woman told a 4th District Court judge Thursday morning that, as a child, she was told her family would be killed or her younger sisters would be abused if she didn't continue to go to her neighbors' house and let them abuse her.
She said she would repeat in her mind, "God will win," while she was being abused.
"From the time I was a little girl, I believed in God and I believed that he was there comforting me," she said.
She didn't report her experience to the police until many years later. When she did, she said it took a great deal of bravery. She expressed disappointment that the case against the woman she claims abused her 30 years ago would not be going forward, and that she wouldn't get to testify at a preliminary hearing. She said she wants victims of abuse to feel safe coming forward and still believe in the system.
On Thursday, the case against one of the alleged abusers, Roselle Anderson Stevenson, was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be filed again. Stevenson had been charged with sodomy of a child, a first-degree felony. A case against Stevenson's husband, David Hamblin, who was facing more charges, was dismissed in February, also with prejudice. He has an ongoing case in Sanpete County based on reports from a separate alleged victim.
Robert Lunnen, the judge overseeing the case, said he decided to grant Stevenson's request to dismiss the case based on the same things 4th District Judge Robert Griffin relied upon when dismissing Hamblin's case — a decision from the Utah Court of Appeals and the over 30 years since the abuse was alleged to have occurred, which adds concern about any potential evidence.
Lunnen said dismissing the case is in the best interests of justice. He said several agencies have recognized there are evidentiary issues that would be "extremely difficult" for prosecutors to overcome, and that courts require an adversarial proceeding.
The judge said he appreciates the alleged victim's statement and noted that, because it is a trial, there was no cross-examination and Stevenson maintains her innocence.
The two dismissed cases were filed as part of an investigation into what the Utah County Sheriff's Office called "ritualistic sexual abuse." The allegations have named multiple individuals, including former Utah County Attorney David Leavitt, against whom charges have not been brought. An attorney representing Hamblin in a Sanpete County case said part of the concern about the evidence includes that Hamblin offered a therapy, which could alter memories.
The alleged victim said Thursday that when she finally went to the police, she believed Hamblin and his wife would be taken off the streets, and she felt guilty not coming forward sooner, thinking others were also being abused. She said she knew the truth was on her side. Now, she is afraid that the cases being dismissed will lead Hamblin and Stevenson to have more confidence that they can get away with abuse.
"I know there are other victims, very understandably being afraid to come forward. I want them to know that I stand with them in their grief and pain; they are not alone. And I want our justice system to change so that victims feel safe to come forward and perpetrators feel less safe in abusing others," the woman said.
The woman spoke about one instance where she, as a young child, was put into a sleeping bag while she claimed Hamblin abused her. She said if she called out, he would wrap the cord of the sleeping bag around her neck more tightly.
"I couldn't breathe and I thought I was going to die," she said.
Afterwards, she said she wiped sweat and hair from her face and walked home, pretending like nothing had happened.
She said Stevenson knew what was going on, that the couple abused her together, and that the abuse got more blatant and worse for her the longer it continued. She talked about Stevenson comparing her body with the bodies of her daughters, who were of similar age, and rating their sexual acts.
"It was not a childhood. My childhood was taken," the woman told the judge.
She talked about her experience feeling alone, wondering if she would see her family again and not being able to talk to others about what she was going through.
Cara Tangaro, Stevenson's attorney, said Stevenson "adamantly denies any sexual abuse" occurred and is factually innocent. She asked the judge to follow the agreement between her and prosecutors to dismiss the case with prejudice, as he did.
"This case should have never been filed, should have never been prosecuted," she said.
Wendy Nestor, the woman's attorney, asked the case to be dismissed without prejudice, saying they would like the option for it to be refiled if the investigation finds additional information that could resolve evidentiary concerns.
Assistant attorney general Che Arguello said his heart goes out to the woman. He said prosecutors carefully considered their decision not to oppose the motion to dismiss and will work with the woman, her attorney and their victim coordinator to get her connected with services to help her heal and move forward, regardless of the outcome of the court case.
